A Blisterer

Thurs. 27 Sep. ‘45

Luzon

Dear folks,

Back to work after dinner. I’d have been off this afternoon but a colonel is supposed to come nosing around today so we had to stick around. Today is really a blisterer. There’s no place one can go to get away from it. I’m sitting in the coolest spot I could find and sweating anyway.

We got a little mail last night & I got Gram’s letter written Sep. 16. It’s the first one I’ve seen addressed to 198 and it got here in 9 days. The other letter she mentioned sending before hasn’t come in yet. We have a lot of mail out someplace that hasn’t come in so someday we’ll get a lot at once.

Last night we had a rifle inspection after supper. I had cleaned mine in the forenoon and figured it was O.K. But when the Lt. looked at it he couldn’t see a bit of light through the bore. I got a patch and ran through it and it came out all mud. It seems some of these little mud-dobbers or whatever they are called had started to build a nest in the barrel. I guess that goes down as an embarrassing moment. I got a hair cut last night also. I guess he took it pretty high around the edges but it’s growing out on top finally. My hair seems to grow awfully slow down here. We expected a movie last night but naturally it didn’t come in.

We are going around here with our fingers crossed hoping and waiting to see what will happen. Things still look pretty good unless someone tosses in a monkey wrench. That’s about all there is to say for now so I’ll call this it for today.

Arlington

I Still Don’t Run The Army

26 September 1945

Luzon

Dear folks,

Another afternoon. According to the boss’ figuring this is my afternoon “on” so here I am doing just as little as I can get away with. Yesterday afternoon I was off for an hour or so, so he decided to take off today. From now on we are going to try to arrange it so only one of us is at work all the time. That way we get half of the time off. It reminds me of the setup I had back in Maxey when I took off those two times last fall and went home. The only trouble here is there is no place to go anyway.

The mail last night was nothing much to speak of. Just a few v-mails and a very few letters. The air mails that did come in though were postmarked Sep 17 so they made it in a week. That is really good. One of these days we should hit a heavy mail again as we surely are due for one.

I was off for a couple hours this morning and spent most of the time trying to get my rifle clean. I guess the CO must have gone through the tents looking at them this morning as we have an inspection scheduled for 6:00 tonight. I wasn’t sure that I could find a way of skipping it so I gave it the once over. It hasn’t had much care since I have been here but was in pretty good shape. This damp climate would rust anything. Everything is soaked in the morning when we get up. Our clothes are damp and any metal surface is wet. That black outside covering on my camera has come unstuck believe it or not and is just about off. Envelopes in our desks just stick shut of their own accord. Oh it’s a great country. But they can give it back to MacArthur so far as I am concerned. All I want to do is get out of here and maybe it won’t be too long. If I can ever get anything that is halfway definite I intend to cancel my allotment the end of October but I’ll let you know if I do and I won’t do it unless it is pretty sure that I am going to lose that 20% overseas pay. If we should hit the states someday I want to have a little money on me for anything I might want. They are going to do one big business in ice cream when we get back to Frisco I can bet them that. Can you get stuff like that again now. From what we hear most of the rationings is just about over. Another thing we were wondering about was shoe rationing as we want to get some low ones as soon as we can. I can’t see wearing a pair of GI’s all across the country. If it is winter then the boots would be all right but they are pretty hot in summer. I have a nearly new pair. I haven’t decided just what I am saving them for yet. You can’t put a shine on them unless you work so long that it isn’t worth it as they are rough leather.

We have all of our junk yet and from the looks of things we will keep it. I can’t see dragging the gas mask and a lot of this stuff around anymore but I still don’t run the army. I have carried it on and off of two ships so one more won’t make much difference but I’ll bet one thing – I won’t have the junk when we leave here that I carried from France. When we left New York we had practically nothing but our minimum GI stuff. By the time we hit France we were all loaded down again. How does it accumulate? We turned in our overcoats and all but one set of OD’s in Marseilles but got 3 sets of suntans, an extra set of fatigues, mosquito bars, mattress covers and a variety of smaller items so we were just as loaded or more so when we took off. I have one set of woolens left and they are just a little small as some of those European laundries shrank them particularly the one in Gloucester. Oh well one of these days they’ll all be put off for the last time I keep telling myself.

We can’t get any dope on things here but it still looks pretty good.

Well that’s about the size of things here for today. Maybe I can get a new crop of rumors by tomorrow. Something must have cooled them off as there haven’t been any today. So long again until next time.

Arlington

All The Dope

Tues. 18 Sep. ‘45

Luzon 10:30 a.m.

Dear folks,

Time for my morning break. I got sort of tied up over the weekend and as a result didn’t get a letter out yesterday. Sunday I got your Sep. 4 letter so that was quite fast. Our mail comes in quite steadily from day to day now instead of in large bunches at long intervals. Letters take about 12 days to get to us and ours must make it to the states in 5 or 6 days. The situation is much better. Yesterday the train didn’t get into San Jose so all there were, were a few V-mails. Should be a lot today.

Sunday afternoon 3 of us decided to take a little hike to see some of the country since there was no work to do. So we started out and caught a ride up to C Co. about 7 miles from here. There we met a B Co. truck on its way up to one of their bivouac areas so we rode on up with them about 18 miles further. What a ride. We had to go clear up to the top of the mountain range and then on down the other side. I have never seen or expect to see again anything to compare with it. For the most part the road is wide enough for one vehicle with occasional bypasses where 2 can pass. There are places where a solid rock wall rises on one side of the road and on the other edge is a 2000 foot drop practically straight down. The view was really beautiful and I’m glad I had a chance to see it but just between the 2 of us I don’t think I’d care to travel that road many times. It’s just one twist and turn after another. We got up there about mid afternoon and spent the time watching them build up part of the road which had washed away and we watched our little yellow friends come trudging down out of the mountains. They are sad looking characters if I ever saw any. In the first place they look more like animals than humans anyway. Now they look like beaten animals. They come slogging down, some with there [sic] legs swollen to twice the normal size. They started out with a large number on stretchers but by the time they had gone 6 or 7 miles the stretchers were practically all empty. They just tossed them off a cliff. One General came down with a flock of colonels and lesser officers and was he an arrogant boy. As long as they cater to them the way they do we’ll never get it across to the Japs that they have actually lost this war. They seem to look at it as just a sort of strategic retreat or interlude. Sometimes I wonder if we didn’t make a mistake in letting them quit.

We got ready to leave at about 5:30 but it started to rain so we waited awhile. When we finally got on our way we rode about a mile and met another truck coming back and they told us the rain had caused a slide and the road was partially blocked. So all we could do was go back and stay there all night. We borrowed some blankets from our boys at the water point and slept on some tool chests. Yesterday morning we took off afoot and walked up to the top of the pass – about 4 miles before we got a ride. We could have waited and ridden but we thought the road was in worse shape. On the way back we found 2 bridges out. One had collapsed under a load of rations and the truck was lying on its side. So we finally got back about 10:30 yesterday morning. A few people were a little unhappy but everything seems all right now. Think I’ll stay at home for awhile.

So that’s about all the dope. We had quite a bit of work yesterday but got it out so things are rather quiet today. It’s dinner time now so I’ll sign off and see what delicacies our cooks have dreamed up today. We have a P.X. now and it’s a pretty good deal. So long for now,

Arlington

What A Hole

V-MAIL

Thursday 6 Sep. ‘45

Luzon

Dear folks,

Once more censorship has been lifted. The last time it lasted about 3 days before we were alerted for movement to the staging area. I wonder what will happen this time. We left Troidorf [?] June 2 and spent 5 days enroute to Calais, a few miles from Marseilles. We traveled by truck and really had an enjoyable trip. At least over there, there were a few things to see. We stayed in the Calais area until July 10 and what a hole that was. I was in Marseilles a few times just to get away from the dust for a few minutes. We left Marseilles July 10 and arrived at Panama July 22 and stayed overnight. Then we took off once more and arrived at Hollandia, New Guinea Aug. 16. Then on to Manila Aug. 21. We have been at 3 spots out here, Angeles, San Jose, and now near Baga Bag [?]. Its rugged country all around and the hills are full of boys waiting to come out.

So long for now

Arlington

The Forgotten Group

Monday 3 Sep. ‘45

Luzon

Dear folks,

Guess it’s time I took a break as its 2:15 already. We still haven’t any mail. Our mail clerk left 3 days ago but hasn’t come back. Not much new around here today. The points are lowered to 80 and the age to 35 if the man has 2 years of service. I’ve got the 2 years but that’s all. My new score is 46 and I don’t ever expect it to do me much good. The way I see it they should forget about points and discharge men on the basis of service time. Older men and those with dependents were the last in and will be the first out. In the meantime we sit back and wait while the best years creep away from us. I know I shouldn’t sound discouraged but it’s pretty hard not to. There is a large group of us who are from 20 to 24 and have between 40 and 50 points. Most are fellows who were in college. So far we seem the forgotten group. But maybe times will change before long. If they carry out present plans, at least some good ratings will open up for the boys. If we can’t get home we may as well grab all we can.

It’s a rather cloudy day today. It rained during the night so I was able to get my water supply off the roof. Last night we went about a mile to see a movie and it was the same one we saw Sat. It was worth seeing again anyway. There is none tonight so I guess I’ll get to bed early. I should clean my rifle since I fired it yesterday. It’s good I never needed it as the shells don’t feed right. I sent out my laundry this morning. Supply collects it and gives it to the natives to wash for us. They take it down to the river and beat the dirt out. I don’t know how long the material will hold out but it gets the stuff clean. I don’t know what it will cost. Our pay is supposed to come in with mail. That’s about the story for today. These envelopes get stuck due to the damp weather in case you notice the tear.

So long,

Arlington

Little Yellow Boys

V-MAIL

Sunday 2 Sept. ‘45

V-J Day on Luzon

Dear folks,

Well according to all we’ve heard today is the big one – V-J Day. General Yamoshita came down out of the mountains about 10 miles from here and surrendered today. His men will be on their way out tomorrow probably. As in Germany I guess our only sight of the enemy will be as P.W.’s but that’s good enough for me. I didn’t realize these little yellow boys were so close. Last night I took in a movie “Weekend at the Waldorf” which was pretty good. It rained a bit but we’re used to it. This afternoon I and another fellow went on an exploration of the nearby country. It’s really rugged. We took along our rifles and a little ammo and did a bit of firing. It’s about the best way to clean out the bore. We ran onto a clear river and got off a bit of the dirt that’s been accumulating. News – points to be recounted as of today & 75 set as critical score. Men [over?] 35 to go home. So I’m still stuck with only 46 points. Oh well, so long

Arlington

The Japs Have Quit

V-MAIL

Tues. 14 Aug. ’45 8:30 p.m.

Dear folks,

Right now I feel the best I’ll probably feel until the day I see that “Golden Gate” again. About 5 minutes ago they announced to us that the Japs have quit. It seems almost hard to realize that there really is no more war but boy does it feel good. We happened to be in a pretty good place for it to end. I don’t imagine I’d better tell you where but I don’t think I’d care to stick around. It looks pretty rugged and not too long ago they were kicking Japs out of the jungles. It’s too hot and dense for my liking. What happens to us is the question we are waiting to see answered. It could be good but it can’t be too bad (we hope). Get my clothes out of the moth balls and stock up on food ‘cause one of these months I’ll be barging in and I’m going to be hungry for some of your food.

So long for now,

Arlington

Pouring It Out

Tues. 31 July ‘45

At Sea

Dear folks,

Just about time I wrote a line or two I guess. There isn’t much that one can write about. We stopped “somewhere” a few days ago and I mailed a couple letters which I had written. You won’t get them for awhile though as they hold them until quite awhile after we left. I don’t suppose it would get by if I named the spot so I’ll just skip it for now. It really seemed good to get off this boat for a little while. They really had a nice setup for us. They put on a couple very good shows for us with some really good music. There was free ice cream and plenty of everything we could want. It was like a little hunk of the U.S. stuck off there. Naturally we were restricted to a small area and didn’t see much of the people. The ones I saw all seemed to know English.

We picked up about 90 sacks of fresh mail on the dock which was good. I got your letter of July 7 and 2 from Gram postmarked the 4^th and 11^th of July. I also got a picture of Julius which he had taken down in Texas. It’s quite nice but I’m afraid the cardboard frame will take quite a beating before I’m through. I think I’ll put it into one of the leather folders I got back in Germany. You know eight months ago none of us ever thought we’d say we wished we were back in “good old” Germany but now we almost do.

I just realized it’s been about 2 weeks since I last wrote. It doesn’t seem possible but the time really flies. We’ve had a good trip so far for which all of us are thankful. The sea gets a little rough occasionally but our stomachs are used to it by now. The days go fast. We are up about 6:15, dress, and maybe shower before breakfast. I take 1 or 2 showers a day and still I’m dirty. I always did sweat a lot and I’m really pouring it out now. My shirt gets soaked in no time. By the time we eat breakfast it’s nearly 9:00. From 9:30 to 10:00 we get “oriented.” Then there’s an hour or so before dinner which goes in no time. The afternoon goes fast and after supper we have reports, etc. to take care of. I’m surprised that I am no more “tired” of the trip than I am. It’s a lot different from the last. I’ll be glad though when we get set up once more. I’m sort of anxious to see how well our section operates under its new organization. I think it ought to do pretty well myself. If we get what we hope for we’ll be all set. The war news is really encouraging now if it only holds.

Well there’s not much else to say for the situation right now so I’ll sign off and get ready for bed once more.

So long again,

Arlington

I’m Still “Around”

Tuesday 17 July ‘45

At sea

Dear folks,

Guess it’s about time I wrote another line or two your way. I could write oftener than I am but I have no idea just when they might be mailed and besides there isn’t a great deal one can talk about due to censorship.

The ocean has stayed remarkably smooth. It is a little ruffled today but by now I am used to the rolling motion again and it doesn’t seem to be bothering me any. The time is going unusually fast, certainly not like our trip from the states to England. This morning we had a rifle inspection so it took a little time to look that over. It seems in pretty good condition considering the beating it took in France. Never have I ever “endured” the dust we lived in back there before.

Our food is holding up as good as at first. If it keeps up I should gain a little weight unless I sweat it all away. It’s really hot today. In no time one is soaked with perspiration and I don’t dare leave off my shirt too long at a crack as I know how easily I can get really burned.

I’m still ordering the P.X. rations for our section, which takes a little more time. So far I haven’t figured out any way of making a profit on the deal. It is developing into a full-scale problem in bookkeeping and I shall be happy to just “break even” when it’s all done.

They have organized a sort of band or orchestra of some nature from among the boys which is making its big “debut” tonight. I’m in the mood for some real music again. They broadcast some over the P.A. once in awhile but not enough. We haven’t heard much since we left England. The “Armed Forces Network” back there put out some really good programs.

We have lots of reading material floating around but so far I haven’t finished the one book yet that I started 3 or 4 days ago.

I wonder what’s “going on” back there. I imagine it’s pretty warm if it’s a typical July. I wish we were on that “one way trip” home but that’s something it’s better not to think about I guess. Someday we’ll be making that trip and then we won’t be caring about conditions or accommodations just so long as we get there.

Well there isn’t much else I can talk about now. Part of the letter I wrote the other day may be clipped as I understand the censorship is rather strict. Anyway you’ll get something at least so you’ll know that I’m still “around.” So long again until “next time.” Take it easy,

Arlington

Maybe We Should Have Joined The Navy

Sunday 15 July ‘45

Somewhere at Sea

Dear folks,

Well it’s about a week since I have written, most of which has been spent “at sea.” We are several days on our way now but there are a great many more yet unless I miss my guess. It’s hard to tell when this may be mailed.

Things aren’t so bad as they might be fortunately. I guess it’s safe to say we hit an American ship this time and what a difference. We are getting the best food we’ve seen in months – the best prepared and the largest quantities. Maybe we should have joined the navy. The big difference between this and our previous voyage is that we don’t eat and sleep in the same place. We have our compartment with a bunk for each man. Except for a morning inspection period we can sleep at any time we like. Naturally we’re a bit crowded but that is expected. I have an electric fan near my bunk and so far it hasn’t been too hot to sleep.

The time goes along much faster than last time. By the time we’ve gotten up, dressed, sweated out the chow line for breakfast it is around 9:00. It takes about an hour each time to get through the chow line but with three square meals a day we aren’t kicking. In between I’ve done a bit of reading and naturally we have some work to do as morning reports are an eternal thing.

We have some music broadcast about the ship which sounds pretty good.

Yesterday for awhile I didn’t feel too “healthy” so I hit the bed for a few hours and got over it. I certainly ought not to be seasick as the ocean is very calm. I don’t suppose it can last but I surely hope it does.

Somebody decided I should have a job to do I guess as I find myself in charge of ordering P.X. rations for my section. That takes another hour about so before we know it almost, the day is over.

We have shower facilities, fresh water at certain hours, salt water always. They issued out salt water soap so we are all set. About the biggest difficulty now is laundry. We are “hurtin” in that department but whether we’ll get any service is hard to say.

Maybe you notice the difference in my address. As of July 12, 1945 I am a Technician 4^th Grade, the one with 3 stripes and the “T.” Just to make it sound good I’ll use Sgt. It’s the same grade and the same pay. They promised us our stripes once we got on the boat and they were as good as their word. Our boy Kumins pulled out on us and we left him in the hospital at the last minute. So that made quite a few openings. The boy ahead of me made Tech/Sgt. so I got his T/4. A T/5 took over my job with “C” Co. I like the job I have but I almost got thrown out of it on my ear. I don’t think it shall happen again. It better not anyway.

As I said I don’t know when this will be mailed. We are hoping to stop someplace and drop mail and maybe pick some up. Any that we left behind us I’m afraid will be quite awhile catching up now. This is still my old address but once you get my new one I’d like to get a few more letters than I’ve been getting lately. Do I need to say more?

It’s about chow time for our compartment I believe. We had ice cream for dinner today for the first time. No wonder these boys in the Navy put on weight if they always eat this way. By the time we get off I should have gained a little.

Well that’s about all there is to say on this “peaceful” Sunday afternoon. The war seems awfully remote out here on the clear, very blue ocean right now but it probably will be brought to us again, soon enough. I’ll write again probably before this goes “out” so until next time,

Take it easy,

Arlington

But Then I Don’t Run The Army

Saturday 12 May 1945

Germany – 2:30 p.m.

Dear folks,

Starting today I shall go back to writing by air mail instead of v-mail. Judging by the speed with which we have been getting air mail letters from back there it will be faster. I am typing this on a German machine and as usual am hitting a few wrong keys as they have some of them in different places. Every time I go to hit the backspacer I get the number 1 as it is in the same spot. If I were to use this for very long I would get used to it but this is about the second time I have typed on this. I hope this will be readable. It is another swell day here and maybe summer has come finally. The temperature here in the office is around 80 degrees I believe and it is probably more out in the sun. It is hard to keep track of what the day is any more as they are all the same. Tomorrow we are pulling two hours apiece so that will be a little break at least. Now that the war is over our work is beginning to pick up quite a bit but also we should go back to a more “garrison” schedule I should think. We got rid of our steel helmets and just wear the plastic liners now so that is something. It takes a load off our heads although I had got so that I hardly noticed it any more. I would much rather keep wearing the helmet and ditch the rifle somewhere. It gets tiresome carrying it everywhere we go. We are supposed to have it and the ammunition with us whenever we go outside no matter for what. I could see it so long as the war lasted but now it seems sort of unnecessary to me unless a person is on guard but then I don’t run the army.

It really seems good to know that the war over here is over but it isn’t going to help us very much by the looks of things. We have been busy working on this point business but most of us will get nothing from it. I don’t suppose it is any secret that only 8 men in my company are above the critical score in points that has been set up so far. I’m so far down that I may as well forget it. I have 38 points under the present plan. 28 points for service, 5 points for 5 months overseas, 5 points for one so called battle participation star (believe it or not). You see the Ruhr pocket was not quite all wiped out when we moved into Germany so I guess that is where we get the star if it becomes official. I understand some of the boys were actually under a little fire. Censorship is gradually being lifted and pretty soon we will be able to tell just about everything. According to the Stars and Stripes yesterday we can tell of places we have been and of our trip over if it was 6 months ago. I’ll have to wait a month for that but we can tell of our trip through France and Belgium. As yet we can’t tell where we are if in occupied territory. The boys in the “liberated” countries can even write and say where they are. So going on the assumption that it is not of any military information I shall do a bit of recapitulation. If this is censored out then I am wrong. We were in England from Dec. 22 until April 10. You have a pretty good idea of the trip we had across the Atlantic. I hope that if it falls our lot to have to go to the Pacific that we don’t hit another British boat. They are the worst on the ocean I believe. I never expected to ever live for 2 weeks like we did on that boat on the way over. We lived ate slept everything in one compartment where you couldn’t move without bumping into someone else. Just give me an American boat from now on. The food was the worst I have ever run into. So much for that. Since it isn’t six months yet I won’t say where we left from or where we arrived in southern England. I will say it made me very happy that we didn’t stay where we landed because it was not too healthy a spot particularly earlier in the war. One could see a few evidences of it in just the little bit of the place that we saw. We were stationed in a small British army camp for 3 ½ months right in the edge of Gloucester England. I don’t know if you ever guessed that from anything I ever said or not. Anyway that is where we were. As soon as we stepped out of the gate we were in the residential district and about a 25 minute walk put you in the center of the business section downtown. It was a city of about 60,000 I believe or maybe even more. It may sound funny but two other fellows just asked me how big Gloucester was so they must be writing about it too. It was a rural sort of city if it is possible to have such a thing. There was very little manufacturing around there except the match factory. It was largely a farmer’s city. That section of England is mostly rural [x-ed out text] plants around that neck of the woods during the war. I don’t know if you ever heard them mention the Gloucester “Typhoon” or not. The city war pretty quiet that is until the G!I!’s arrived and it still was pretty quiet even after that. There were times when the Americans seemed thicker in some of the English towns than the English people themselves. The city of Cheltenham was not too far away and was a much more attractive town. It was larger and the stores, homes and everything seemed better than the ones in Gloucester. Now I hear that we can’t say where we were stationed in England so this will really be cut up if that is so. I wish someone would make up his mind on this censorship business. I am going to let this go so if it is really cut up you’ll know it is because I told where I was stationed. We had a fairly nice time on our trip across France. We were in quite a few cities that I can barely remember the names of now. They are French names and hard for me to keep track of but here are a few: Rouen, Valenciennes, Le Havre, in France, Namur, Liege, Mons and others in Belgium. France was really beautiful. It was right in the middle of April when everything was at that fresh green stage of spring. For the most part the county did not show very many signs of the war that was fought across here last summer and fall. Occasionally we would come to a cross road where the ground was all pock marked from shells and with burned out tanks and guns there but on the whole it looked pretty good. In a few of the cities it showed much more particularly as we got deeper into Belgium and nearer to Germany. As soon as we entered Germany the destruction became complete. They fought pretty hard for everything until they reached the Rhine and there is very [little] left between the border and the Rhine believe me. We stopped on the west side of the Rhine at first for a week or so at a blasted out town before we crossed the “mighty” Rhine which didn’t look any more impressive to me than the Grand River back home. Things on this side are in pretty bad shape but not so bad as on the other side in my opinion. We are not too deep into Germany and I suspect that the damage is not so complete the deeper one goes as the Germans were going backward faster and did not fight so hard for the towns. Of course the RAF and 8^th Air forces have been working on some of this for 2 or 3 years and they did a pretty thorough job I might say. We are permitted to mention towns we have been through on travels in Germany so here are a few – Geldern, Krefield, Aachen (there’s nothing left of it), Julich (the most destruction I ever expect to see. It is completely level. They may as well just plow it under and forget it. I remember hearing that it and Aachen were leveled but I never believed it could be so bad as it really is), [x-ed out text] I never got into the city but I did see the spires of the famous cathedral and it is a miracle that it was missed and the rest of the city leveled. That is about all I can say about where I have been without getting into real hot water maybe. It seems this censorship policy is sort of fluid and different persons interpret it differently. Now we are set up here sort of waiting I guess. According to stars and stripes about 400,000 will stay over as army of occupation so we have 1 chance in 10. Time will tell.

That is enough of that for today. You will have hard times trying to read this probably as I have gone back and censored out some of it myself to save someone else the trouble. Last night I got in a couple more hours of tennis and dropped two sets. My game is pretty bad but will improve maybe with time. My wrist is acting up a bit so I may have to give it up completely pretty soon and go back to my stamp collection. I am only about one third of the way through the box of stamps that I have. No mail today. It has been coming through pretty well lately though so we have no complaints I guess. I haven’t been writing to any one and owe quite a lot of letters if I ever get to writing again We are getting a pretty good setup around here now. They are fixing up a swimming pool I understand and they are also making some ball diamonds. We have our tennis court out back here and so far our little group is the only one that use it. It is a dirt court and the GI boots aren’t doing it any good to speak of. There is no real net but we found some pieces and a cable and wired them up to make a sort of makeshift one. Now that the war is over we hear a lot of talk about providing recreational and educational facilities for us. We have been seeing a lot about providing courses at European universities for men in the army of Occupation who are qualified for University training. If there is any chance you know what I’ll be trying to get into. The sooner I can get back into school of some kind the better I shall like it. It has been over a year now and I am getting too far away from the things I have learned. It is all getting too cold. If we don’t stay around here I should be home sometime this year on a furlough of from 21 to 30 days prior to heading for the other ocean. That trip over the Pacific could just about take me in I think. Our Atlantic crossing was bad enough and that was in the middle of winter. Bart is in the Philippines now and he said they ate salt pills like popcorn on the way over. Am I glad I went to ASTP. At least I didn’t go directly to the Pacific and maybe I won’t make it at all now. That all will come with time. Well that is about all there is to say this time I guess. It is about time I went back to work and looked a bit busy so I shall sign off for this time,

Arlington

I’m Not Looking For A Dose Of Livestock

Thurs. 12 April 1945 5:15 p.m.

Somewhere in France

Dear folks,

I’ll start this tonight & maybe finish it tonight or in a day or so just depending. This is the first air mail letter since last Fri. April 6. Since then I’ve been writing a V-mail per day. Sat. & Sun., 7 & 8 were mailed in England. The next 3, Mon., Tues., & Wed. were mailed today along with a 2 page V-mail for today. I hope this ink photographs O.K. & that both pages get there at once. From now on until such time as we get a bit more settled, if we ever do, I’ll write V-mails and then toss in air mails whenever I can. I told you something of the situation in the V-mail letter. We are temporarily set up in a tent camp here in France. It is a fair setup for the field. We have canvas cots and are to get sleeping bags today. It is plenty hot here and we can’t complain about the weather. It has sprinkled a bit now and then but not much. Naturally we don’t have many conveniences. The place where we wash and shave is our steel helmet which we also have to wear all the time outside. It’s about 7:30 now. We got our bed rolls and they are O.K. If everything could always be like this it wouldn’t be bad at all. Incidentally the V-mails I wrote today will be pretty well cut up I guess as I have learned some things I said weren’t permissible. From now on I’ll be strictly with Personnel instead of with the Co. so our officer here will do the censoring. So from now on address my letters to H & S Co. instead of C Co. I’ll get them faster that way. I’ll get a new APO eventually but so far we are still using 518. It will reach us but slower. So that’s what I know now. I’m not getting very far very fast with this. From what I have seen of France I like the countryside. It’s the closest to like “home” that I have seen lately, broad level green valleys with occasional hills. Everything is reaching the height of color now. I places it seems hard to realize there has been a war, but others bring it back to you in a hurry. Some of the sights aren’t pretty. England was pretty bad in spots, but much differently. Of course, England has had a different view of the war, all from the air, over here it’s from everywhere. But we still haven’t seen it as bad as we will before very long. The farther we go naturally the worse it will get. Well enough of this for now.

I find I have now received all your letters up thru Mar. 29 except 26 & 27 so that is pretty good. We probably won’t get any now again for quite a while and I expect the service to be more intermittent than before. I also have letters here from Gram postmarked Mar. 19 & 26 which I don’t believe I’ve mentioned before. It’s getting a bit dark now so I shall sign off and continue on this tomorrow. I’ll start to answer these letters and see how far I get. I quit before with Mar. 21 but at that time 15, 17 & 18 and 20 were missing which I now have. That’s the picture now. I’ll be back again next time and see how far I get. So long for tonight.

Mon. 16 April 1945 – Germany – Well I didn’t get on with this very fast, did I? I’ll finish it off tonight and mail it in the morning. The 2 page V-mail I wrote the 12^th came back from the censor because I said too much so it had to be changed. I mailed it again but it will be a bit marked up. I have written V-mails on the 13th, 14^th, 15^th & today the 16^th so you know what to expect. From now on I’ll try to get in a V-mail per day and air mails when I can.

Well I imagine that word Germany didn’t make you too happy and it gave me a slight shiver too, when I found out where we were headed but it’s all O.K. here and believe me I’m not complaining.

It’s been swell summer weather lately and we had an enjoyable trip over to here. I guess its permissible to say we crossed France and went through part of Belgium but naturally I can’t mention towns, yet at least. France and Belgium are really beautiful countries, in a way even more so than England. They are much more like the U.S. – broad, rolling plains, some hills, good roads, attractive cities. Some places showed signs of a lot of activity, others where the Germans pulled out fast last fall were O.K. There is quite a bit of German & naturally some American equipment burned out along the roads in spots. It’s hard to believe people can exist in some of the places but they do and they really show gratitude in their faces to the Americans. The English aren’t very well liked but the Americans are tops. All the way to the German border, in every town, people were out waving and shouting to us. In France & in Belgium nearly every house has a flag out tied with black ribbons in mourning for F.D.R. I got some ice cream in one town in Belgium. It wasn’t bad at all. From my observation, the people in Belgium are a bit better off than those in France – more merchandise in the stores, better clothing & etc.

One could have told the German border even without signs, I believe. If every German could be made to realize the destruction we have seen, this war would be over. I can’t mention names but one city was practically level, nothing but rubble and for miles you can’t find a single untouched structure. You know we heard this or that city was leveled but still we didn’t realize just what it really meant until we saw them. It’s horrible. But still they asked for it and believe me they got it. The Germans I’ve seen are a beaten people. There aren’t too many civilians in this city, mostly women, children, and a few old men. They look pretty docile but I guess I can see why. I’ll confess I don’t see how or where they live. We have all the decent buildings and there are no shops or industry left. This has been total war and a whole lot more than they ever bargained for. Some attempt to be friendly but even if we wanted to, we are forbidden to fraternize. I don’t know enough German to get me far but if we stay very long I expect to broaden my knowledge rapidly.

Right now we have a very good setup. We are living in what once was a sort of county courthouse. It was pretty much of a mess because they evidently left in a hurry. Records, etc. are scattered all over the place but it isn’t badly damaged from shell fire. There are enough ration coupons around here to last a year. Evidently this is the collection point from local merchants. All the vital statistics of the county were kept here. We found thousands of cards with the pictures, fingerprints, & life story I guess of every resident. Americans who preceded us must not have stayed long because they didn’t clean out any of the junk. I haven’t snooped much because I’m not afraid to admit I’m just a bit afraid of things but it’s all O.K. here. If it weren’t we’d have had plenty of casualties by now. The souvenir hunters have made their raids. There are hundreds of books and a few nice paintings around.

We have a very nice room, facing the west with plenty of light. The electricity is on & one of the boys found a bulb somewhere so we have light also. It’s a large room with very expensive oak paneling. We fixed that up swell with a few oversize spikes to hang our clothes on. We have a table, 3 chairs & the other 2 boys have makeshift beds. I don’t trust these mattresses. I’m not looking for a dose of livestock myself. I have a mattress cover & my shelter half on the floor under my sleeping bag and I’ll let it go at that. It’s a beautiful setup if it lasts. Hqs. is set up in another building and it’s really nice. We’ve been fairly busy today and it will be even more that way from now on. I managed to get a bath this afternoon and also a shave. Was I dirty! Yi. I found a place in C Co. where the water was running yet so I bathed in my helmet. It was cold water but it sure felt good to get into clean underwear, etc. I still should clean my rifle. It’s pretty dusty. That baby goes with us “everywhere” from now on, so does the steel helmet. If you are caught without them its “rough.” The food lately is alphabetical – K, C, D & 10 in 1. They have some new varieties of C rations so that helps a little. I had beef & noodles for supper tonight, cheese for dinner & hash for breakfast this morning.

That’s about all there is to say this time I guess and this is getting heavy anyway. You know when I look down here into the garden at the fruit trees in blossom, etc. it’s hard to realize that all this can really be. Well it’s about 7:30 by my watch. That’s London time. I don’t know if this is the same time over here or not.

Now as I said before don’t let that “somewhere in Germany” get you too worried, as this is O.K. now. Six weeks ago I’d hated to have been here but time flies. Don’t worry. Well I’ll sign this off for tonight and maybe get some letters answered next time. We won’t get mail for a long time now I expect. Take it easy

My love,

Arlington

I Was Never One Of Bill’s Followers

Thurs. 5 April 1945

England 7:45 p.m.

Dear folks,

Back again. I wrote a couple pages this morning but since then the cast has come off, for good, so I thought I’d start another one and maybe get caught up with the unanswered letters before I get back to the outfit. I have a hunch there’ll be plenty of work waiting for me. Also I haven’t picked up any letters since last Fri. so unless they are in process of being forwarded to me here, there ought to be a few waiting for me. The Major looked me over this morning and checked the X-rays & finally decided to take off the cast and send me back. The bone was broken in 1943 and a cast is of no good now. So long as I stay on this job it will be O.K. as it has been now for nearly a year. So that’s that. I’ll be glad to get back and “settle down” once more. I don’t suppose the payroll is typed. That’s too much to hope for. I don’t know for sure yet but I’ll probably be discharged from here tomorrow or Sat. at the latest. I’ve got a lot of things to get in order back there. I have a lot of junk to sort out and get rid of and also round up some of my equipment and get it in order. I haven’t seen some of the stuff for a couple months. My tent has made just about every bivouac I guess. I think it’s out again this week. I’ve a lot of laundry to get out now that I have 2 hands too. So I’ve got to get on the ball as well as back to work. Where does stuff come from? I came over here with practically nothing and now I’ve more darned stuff. All the little openings and crannies in my desk are jammed full of soap, razor blades, stationery, pictures, etc. and still there’s stuff left over. Oh me.

Dinner today was very good – chicken, potatoes, gravy, spinach, corn, bread, butter and cake. After dinner I grabbed my clothes and a pass and caught a sightseeing trip put on by special services. We had a nice bus ride as it was a pretty fair day. The countryside is beautiful now, with flowers out, the fruit trees in blossom and everything so freshly green. We were in very hilly areas and that made it even nicer to me. Our destination was Stratford-Upon-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare. I was never one of Bill’s followers, but still it was well worth the trip and I can stick out my chest now and say, oh, yes, I’ve been there. I guess the town makes its existence from Shakespeare’s name. We were guided around by a representative of the “British Council,” an organization for the furtherance of relations between the 2 nations. First we went through the Nash Museum which is next door to Bill’s old house. The museum is very interesting and really full of oddities. Shakespeare’s House was torn down and only the foundation remains but the gardens are still there and are really beautiful. I wish you could see them. I bought several postcards of things I saw which I can maybe send along sometime. I was just elected to make some coffee for the boys. This ought to be good. We got a good look at the Memorial Theater but it was closed. They were having one of his plays tonight. Then we rode a way to Ann Hathaway’s cottage. She was his wife and her family maintained that home from 1470 to 1911. It was really old but of course parts of it have had to be restored. It is set up as a sort of museum but only of stuff from the family. From there we went out of town a way to the Mary Arden (his mother) farm. It was set up about the same way in the house and the barn is a museum of old farm pieces, etc. The dovecote and the cider press were rather interesting too. From there we went back to town and went through the church where he is buried. It is a very pretty but quite a bit smaller than “my cathedral.” That was the last place we saw. Then we went back for “tea” – bread, butter, jam & cake before heading back here. It made a nice trip, spent the day, and should have added a bit to my education although it probably didn’t. I got back here a little while ago and they cut off the cast so now I can write to more advantage. Wonder how the coffee is doing. So that is today. My vacation is about over and I’ll probably pay for it when I get back. I’ll be afraid to find out what & how much work is waiting.

Anyway that’s all the news so I shall get to the rest of these letters. My records indicate that I have received and answered all letters thru Mar. 14. The next air mail is Fri. Mar. 16 – Well, that rat raised quite a “stink.” We’ve had quite a bit of rain off and on for the past week, but never too much at once. The boys are moving in Germany now. I’m going to be a liar if there isn’t an armistice by May 1. By now you know I made the dash to London and back. I don’t expect to go again, even if I were around long enough. I may have a box waiting for me. Yes we can get air mail stamps here also. Sometimes it’s just as well to be a little indifferent about things. I don’t expect to get up around Miss Long’s relatives neighborhood. Once I leave the U.K. I don’t expect to get back. I don’t remember seeing that clipping about Vivian. Next in line are V-mails of Mar. 16, 17, & 19 – A week seems to be the fastest time for letters although some have been received here by fellows in 4 days. At the rate I’m going I won’t use much film. I’ve taken 3 pictures so far. I could have used it today but naturally I didn’t have it over here with me. Oh me, another long drive for Dad. It’s too tiring for him to do very much. I don’t think he needs that to know what home means. Of course it helps, believe me. That pkg. sounds O.K. It’s due in a few days. I wasn’t wearing any green except my O.D.’s on St. Pat’s Day. I was in London. The lawn mowers have been in operation for quite awhile over here. It’s swell to get the V-mails steadily. Don’t tell me you’re like Edna. I guess spring is coming fast over there too. Now comes your Mar. 19 air mail letter. Well, so Donald got the bronze star. Well, I guess he has what it takes. Remember how afraid he was about it all? No all the bottles of stuff have come through unbroken although it isn’t too good an idea. Canned peanut butter, etc. works fine though. The moon seems to stand out more over here, probably due to the blackout & also the sort of quaintness of everything. Yes, some English girls go around with black boys but not many, at least any more. I guess the G.I.’s have said enough to wake them up to the difference. I understand that plaster rots clothing too. Nobody coaxes me to do anything I don’t want to do.

That cleans up a few more letters anyway. It’s about time for lights out so I shall sign off for today. Good night.

Fri. 6 April 1945, 10:25 a.m.

Back again. It’s a very overcast day but no rain as yet. I thought I might get out of here today but I guess not so I asked for a pass for the afternoon and evening. I have to make the most of my opportunities while there is a decent place to go and something to do. I suppose it sounds silly, my going off on pass all the time but then you’ve never been in a similar position. Last night after a shower I got to bed at about 10:30. I’ve been getting my sleep anyway for the past week. We were out of bed at 7:00 this morning. I got my bed all made up nice and then ate – cakes, butter, syrup, farina, milk, & canned grapefruit. Then I shaved and got to work on our “housework.” We gave the ward a good going over today, swept, mopped, waxed & everything else. Now that’s over and here I am. I believe I’ll get out tomorrow. I guess I’ll get back in time to go to work. So that’s today so far. I still have a couple V-mails to answer here yet – Mar. 21 & 20 – Well I’ll still have trouble with the wrist. I had a talk with the Capt. today & he explained it to me. Normally they would cast it for 3 months but it’s an old break. They could operate but too often it doesn’t help. So he suggests that I just go along as it is and stay away from heavy work. I could probably get a reassignment as a limited assignment man but it involves quite a bit and I have as “limited” a type job right now as I’d probably get. I’m satisfied & want to stay with the boys. I’ve come this far. I may as well stick. Well I’m glad the contract is signed. That’s one less worry for you. You can settle back now & know a little about what to expect. Well, it would be swell if you could get a letter every day. What with V-mails, mail from this side, etc. I do almost that well. You know me, I’ll always tell you not to worry because you are foolish if you do. Boy if I worried about all the “possibilities” look where I’d be. That catches all the letters I’ve received up to last Fri. There ought to be some over at camp or on its way here. Mar. 21 is the latest I have but Mar. 15, 17 & 18, & 20 air mails are still out. All in all it’s pretty good. Well, they just mentioned Lansing on the radio as the safest city in the States.

Well that’s about all there is to say at 11:05 a.m. on Fri. so I shall sign off on this for now. So long again,

Love

Son

The Thin Man Goes Home

Thurs. 5 April 1945

England 9:05 a.m.

Dear folks,

Well here I am with the same old story. In case you get this letter first I’ll back up to say they took off the cast last Fri. but they didn’t think it was healed so I was put here in the hospital Sat. and have been here since. I still don’t know what the score is on the whole deal. The wrist feels just as it has since 1943 when I first jammed it up. Tues. they took more X-rays and then slapped a new and bigger cast on me. I don’t know what those X-rays showed yet but I imagine the break is there. Now I’d be willing to bet it was broken back at Ark. I’d like to get hold of that old “horse doctor.” So that’s a resume of the situation.

Today started out like a rainy stormy day but the sun is out bright now and it looks swell. How time is flying. Here it is April 5 already. In some ways that’s good, in others it isn’t. Yesterday after I wrote that short note to you I loafed around until dinner time. We had a good meal – steak, potatoes, gravy, peas, bread, butter, apple pie and orange juice. I certainly have no complaints about the food here. After dinner I shaved, dressed and along about 2:00 took off on pass. I might as well be out as just sitting around doing nothing. I got a lift into town in a jeep so I didn’t lose any time getting in there. I stayed in this town this time and walked around awhile to see what I could. I got a bite at the Red Cross. It’s really a nice place. Much better than ours over in the other town but then this whole place is better. It’s a big hotel that has been taken over for the R.C. and is really swell on the inside. They offer a lot more too. I checked the state register and found a lot of boys from Lansing but none that I know. There were a couple familiar last names but no one I knew personally. About 3:30 I left there and met my friend. We walked around some and ended up going to a movie – “The Thin Man Goes Home” with Wm. Powell, Myrna Loy & Asta naturally. It was a good picture but some of the other “added” attractions weren’t. They had a 40 minute picture called “Charted Waters” which was a sort of geography lesson on the fen country of England. That was over about 8:00 so we walked around a bit and then got something to eat. We each had 9:30 buses to catch which we missed by about a minute so we took off in opposite directions for the R.R. station & the Red Cross respectively. At 10:00 I got a bus back here from the R.C. and made it to bed by 10:45.

I was routed out at about the same time again this morning for breakfast – eggs, bread, butter, jam, shredded wheat, milk, and prunes. After eating we did our cleanup work and now here I am. One of the boys just came in with a grin from ear to ear. He’s going back to the States pretty soon he hears. How good that must feel. So that’s about all the dope from here. I wasn’t going to ask for a pass today but they came around and asked us to go along on a little tour so I decided I might as well see a little more of the country so I’ll go along if nothing comes up to interrupt it.

Well after looking over the situation they have decided the break is an old one and since it isn’t healed now it won’t help to leave on the cast so it comes off and I go back as before. So I guess that’s about all there is to that. I don’t know whether I’ll get out today yet or not. I hope so. Anyway that’s about all for now so I’ll sign off and see you later.

So long,

Love

Son

It’s His Hobby

Wed. 4 April 1945

England – 9:25 a.m.

Dear folks,

Well I’m still here. Last Friday they took off the cast but the X-ray showed it wasn’t knitted so Sat. they ran me into the hospital. I’ve been cooling my heels here since. Yesterday they put it into another cast and took more X-rays but I haven’t the slightest idea what’s going to be the result. The wrist feels like it has since I first did that back at school. I guess I’ll just have to wait it out. This is a wonderful life but the days are too long. I had intended to write a few letters yesterday but then they put on this cast so I gave it up with the short one I wrote you. Dinner yesterday wasn’t bad – spuds, sauerkraut, string beans, bread, butter, rice pudding, peaches, and orangeade. After dinner I slept awhile and then they showed a movie here in the ward for most of the afternoon. It was a good picture – “Two Girls and a Sailor” with Gloria DeHaven, Durante, Harry James, Lena Horne, Gracie Allen and a lot of others. That helped pass the time a lot. I ate supper at about 5:00 – beans, cheese, asparagus, beets, bread, butter, cocoa and ice cream. After supper I just sat around awhile. Then one of the boys from another ward came down and we ended up going to see the same show over again. That was the 17^th time he had seen that picture. It’s his hobby I guess. After that I caught a shower and got to bed. 7:00 rolled around as usual this morning. It’s dark when we get up but it’s still light after 9:00 at night and it’s only April. Breakfast was good – fried eggs, bread, butter, jam, cereal, & milk. After eating we did our “housework” and then here I am. Nothing new so far this morning. I thought I might go back today but nobody seems in a hurry so I asked for a pass. The sun is on a sort of ½ & ½ basis today, ½ in & ½ out. Well there isn’t much else I can say now so I will bring this brief note to a close. I hope you can read it. I’m getting pretty good with these 2 fingers. So long again,

Love,

Son